Card holder for rotary card display devices



June 1932- J. D. M LACHLAN- CARD HOLDER FOR ROTARY CARD DISPLAY DEVICES Filed March 16, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR. Jflfl [aclach Za/L,

June 14, 1932. D Ma.o| AcHLAN 1,863,226

CARD HOLDER FOR ROTARY CARD DISPLAY DEVICES Filed March 16, 193l 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 fTTORNEYfi Patented June 14, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE JOHN D. MA'CLACHLAN, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOR TO MAC AD COMPANY, OF KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI CARI) HOLDER FOR ROTARY CARD DISPLAY DEVICES Application filed March 16, 1931.

This invention relates to advertising card display devices of that class comprising a. stationary casing open at the front, and a carrier for intermittent rotation around a horizontal axis and a large number of card holdem which are successively brought by the carrier to upstanding position at the open side of the casing, and which, upon the next step of the carrier, swing down to pendent position so that of two cards fitted back to back in a holder, the front one is exposed when the holder is in upstanding position and the originally rear or hidden one is exposed when the holder is in depending position, the originally front card becoming the back or hidden card in the last-mentioned position of the holder.

All devices of the class above-identified, with which I am familiar, have been found objectionable for the reason that the cost of servicing themchiefiv in making card replacements-is prohibitive. To meet commercial requirements, it must be possible to service them with unskilled labor, and the replacement of a card or cards must be made quickly as in most instances, the replacement must be made without interrupting the operation of the carrier.

Another objection to most of the devices of the class mentioned, is the use of holders of such type that to mount enough of them on a carrier to make the sale or rental of the devices reasonably profitable, the device must be of such large size that it cannot 'be employed in street cars or busses.

The two prime objects of the invention, therefore, are to provide a holder into or from which one or a pair of cards can be quickly, easily and reliably secured'or removed respectively, by an unskilled person,'and which is of such construction that a large number can be mounted and operate efiiciently on a carrier of diameter substantially less than the width of the holder from its inner to its outer margin.

With theabove-mentioned primary objects in view, and others as will hereinafter appear, the invention consists in certain novel and useful features of-construction and organization of parts as hereinafter described and Serial No. 522,993.

claimed; and in order that it may be fully understood, reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a broken front diagrammatic view of a display device embodying the invention.

Figure 2 is a broken vertical diagrammatic section on the line IIII of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a broken front elevation of a holder embodying the invention.

Figure f is an enlarged fragmentary and broken top edge view of the same.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the lower edge of the holder.

Figure 6 is a vertical section on the line VIVI of Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a perspective view of one of the corners of the frame.

Figure 8 is a vertical section of one of the lower or pivot corners of the frame.

Figure 9 is a detail perspective view of one of the spring-actuated clips of the holder. 7

In the said drawings, the holder is of rec-- tangular form and comprises two end members 1, and top and bottom members 2 and 3, respectively, the end members being of channel type with the flange or wing portions of one projecting toward the corresponding portions of the other. The top member, 1D the shape of a flat bar or strip, is thin enough to project at its ends into the respective channels of the end members and centrally partition the upper ends of the channels, leaving spaces at opposite sides suflicient to accommodate cards of stiff cardboard, hereinafter identified, and to make the connection between the top and end members rigid, the former have narrow flat extensions at fitting corresponding holes in the bridge portion of the end members and providing shoulders 5 abutting the channel members and spacing them a fixed distance apart, the outer ends of the extensions being upset on or welded to the end members to prevent outward or separating movement of the latter. The flanges of the end members are narrowed at their lower ends to leave the bridge portions depending with very narrow flange portions, and throughout the length of said narrow depending portions, the width of the channel is narrowed enough for their narrow flanges to flatly abut or engage opposite sides of the bottom member (see Figure 5) which fits tightly at its ends in said narrow channels and is reduced in width to provide narrow fiat alined extensions 8 projecting through the bridge portions of the end members to constitute trunnions for pivotal engagement with any suitable carrier (hereinafter identified), whereby the frame may turn about its own axis in the turning movement of the latter, especially when free to swing from an upright display position to a pendent display position. The connection between the bottom and end members of the frame, is made rigid by applying solder (not shown) or in any other suitable manner, so that while the frame is light, it also possesses rigidity and strength, and in this connection it is well to state that by narrowing the edge members at their lower ends the inner or pivot corners of the frame about equals the aggregate thickness of bar 3 and two cards, and enables the carrier, as hereinafter pointed out, to operatively support a much larger number of holders than'it would be possible to accommodate if the holders were as thick at their hinge or pivot corners as they are at the upper ends of the end members.

The lower or bottom member 3 of the frame is provided with one or more U-sha ed clips 9, the bottoms of the clips being riveted as at 10 or otherwise secured to said member, so that the wing or flange portions shall projectupward (see Figure the said flanges being spaced slightly from the respective sides of the member to provide spaces for the receptionof the lower edges of the cards 11, of which there are two, fitting flatly together and against the opposite sides of the top and bottom members, with their ends in the end member spaces respectively provided between the top member and the flanges of said end members, as shown most clearly by Figure 4.

To hold the cards with their lower margins within the clips 9, each card is yieldingly depressed by one of a pair of spring-actuated clips fitting on and approximately midway the length of the top member. Each of said clips is preferably produced from a thin flat strip of metal bent upwardly to provide a pair of slightly spaced parallel sides 12 and 13, the latter being the longer and being reversely bent to provide a depending hook 14 which slightly overlaps'and is slightly spaced from the side 12. At the lower or bottom bend there is provided an opening 15 to receive the hook-end 16 of a bowed spring 17 fastened at its opposite end to the lower edge of the top member 2.

The two clips are disposed to face toward opposite sides so that the hooks 14 shall respectively overlie the cards at the corresponding sides ofmember 2, as shown most clearly by Figure .6, it being noted'by reference to said figure and to Figure 4, that the card underlying a hook 14 fits flatly between the same and the outer face of side 12 of the same clip, and by reference to the last-named figure it Will also be seen that the said card fits flatly againstthe outer face of the side 13 of the other clip. It will therefore be apparent that one of the pair of oppositely-facing clips offers resistance to upward movement of one card and theother clip to upward movement of the other card, it being understood that the terms upper and lower or their equivalents, are used relatively, as it is possible to apply or remove a card when the holder is in an upstanding or depending position or in any intermediate position, though when the holder is mounted on the carrier it is not accessible for the replacement of a card until the rotation of the carrier brings it to display position.

In order that the foregoing reference to card replacements may be clearly understood,

reference is to be had to Figure 2, whereby is shown a fragment of a case 18, open at the front for the simultaneous display of the front card of one upstanding holder and the originally rear card of a pendent holder and to accommodate the swinging of each holder from an upstanding to a depending position, and to give access for the servicing operation.

In said case, a horizontally arranged carrier is mounted and rotated intermittently by means not constituting any part of this invention and therefore neither described nor shown. The carrier essentially comprises a shaft 19 carrying two spaced disks 20 provided with circular series of slots 21. The holders fit between the disks and the trunnions 8 of each holder pivotally engages opposite slots of the two disks and said trunnions are also capable of sliding or shifting within the slots as the carrier turns.

To obtain the maximum of benefit from a device of this character by the display of the greatest number of advertisements, it is necessary that each holder shall display two cards, one when the holder is observable through the front opening of the case when in an upstanding position and the other when said holder by the advance of the carrier, is released to swing forward and downward to inverted or pendent position, the holder in the former position being indicated at a and in the latter position at b. For the same reason I have found that in a case of size suitable for use in street cars and busses, it is practicable to employenough holders to give a revenue justifying its installation and use, if the holders are reduced in thickness at their hinge or pivot corners, as unless reduced in thickness at such point, the holders at certain points during the rotation of the carrier, crowd together and wedge or clamp occasionally to such extent that the proper operation of the carrier is interfered with. As this does not always occur at the same point and as a wedgingaction cannot be seen from the front of the case, a cut-and-fit method was resorted to, and it was eventually discovered that a sufiicient number of holders could be employed and operate eliiciently and dependably in a small case, provided the holders at the hinge corners were of relatively considerably reduced thickness as compared with their other corners. By reference to the upper part of Figure 2, it will be apparent that the reduced thickness of the hinge corners of the holders permit them to bunch together laterally in a smaller space than would be possible if the holders were of the same thickness throughout at their outer corners, it being clear that at the latter points the question of thickness is unimportant, it being borne in mind that to accommodate two cards and make provision for the individual and independent replacements thereof, it would be impracticable to make the holders as thin at their outer edges as at their hinge edges because of the employment of the springactuated clips.

In the event it is necessary to replace a card of a holder While stationary and up standing at the front of the case, upward pressure will be applied on the card near its ends to slide it edgewise. This overcomes the resistance of the overlying clip and at the same time withdraws the lower edge of the card from the underlying fixed clip or clips 9, and thus permits the card to be slid downwardly out of the channelled ends. The operation is effected in a moment, and to place a new card in the holder, its ends are fitted in the end members and its upper edge under the yieldable clip. It is then pushed upwardly to repress said clip slightly, and as the pressure is relaxed the clip reacts and pushes the lower edge of the card into the fixed clips. To remove the other card, the holder is preferably permitted to swing to a lowered or pendent position and the action described is repeated except, because the holder is inverted, that the card is pushed downwardly to repress the spring-actuated clip and be withdrawn from the now overlying fixed clips. The operationsboth of them-can be performed in the interim between two rotative steps of the carrier, and hence without interrupting the operation of the latter.

From the above description it will be evi dent that I have produced a construction embodying all of the features of advantage set forth as desirable, and While I have described and claimed the preferred embodiment of the invention, I reserve the right to make all changes falling within the spirit of the invention and without the ambit of the prior art.

I claim 1. A card holder, comprising top and bottom members for engagement at opposite sides by a pair of cards fitting back to back, and end members connecting the top and bottom members and engaging the respective ends of the cards to hold them in parallel and closely adjacent relation, the bottom corners of the holder having trunnions and the bottom member having fixed parts to limit downward movement of the cards relative to the holder, and clips slidable on the top member toward and from the bottom member, one overlapping the upper edge of one of the cards and the other the upper edge of the other card.

2. A card holder, comprising top and bottom members for engagement at opposite sides by a pair of cards fitting back to back, and end members connecting the top and bottom members and engaging the respective ends of the cards to hold them in parallel and closely adjacent relation, the bottom corners of the holder having trunnions and the bottom member having fixed parts to limit downward movement of the cards relative to the holder, clips slidable on the top member toward and from the bottom member, one overlapping the upper edge of one of the cards and the other the upper edge of the other card, and yielding means for resisting upward movement of either of said clips.

3. A card holder, comprising top and bottom members for engagement at opposite sides by a pair of cards fitting back to back, and end members connecting the top and bottom members and engaging the respective ends of the cards to hold them in parallel and closely adjacent relation, the bottom corners of the holder having trunnions and the bottom member having fixed parts to limit downward movement of the cards relative to the holder, clips slidable on the top member toward and from the bottom member, one overlapping the upper edge of one of the cards and the other the upper edge of the other card, and a spring connecting each clip with the upper member to resist upward movement of the card overlapped by the re spective clip.

4. A card holder, comprising top and bottom members for engagement at opposite sides by a pair of cards fitting back to back, and end members connecting the top and bottom members and engaging the respective ends of the cards to hold them in parallel and closely adjacent relation, the bottom corners of the holder having trunnions and the bottom member having fixed parts to limit downward movement of the cards relative to the holder, clips slidable on the top member toward and from the bottom member, one overlapping the upper edge of one of the cards and the other the upper edge of the other card, and a spring connecting each clip with the upper member to resist upward movement of the card overlapped by the respective clip; the springs being interposed between the cards and lying below the upper member of the holder.

5. A card holder, comprising top and bottom members for engagement at opposite sides by a pair of cards fitting back to back, and end members connecting the top and bottom members and engaging the respective ends of the cards to hold them in parallel and closely adjacent relation, the bottom corners of the holder having trunnions and the bottom member having fixed parts to limit downward movement of the cards relative to the holder, and clips slidable on the top member toward and from the bottom member, one overlapping the upper edge of one of the cards and the other the upper edge of the other card; the said clips fitting between the cards and their card-overlapping ends having depending portions respectively engaging the outer faces of the cards to hold them flatly against the opposite sides of the top member of the holder.

6. A holder comprising parallel top and bottom members and channelled end members receiving the ends of the top and bottom members, and longitudinally-alined trunnions at the lower corners, the flanges of the channelled members being spaced from and at opposite sides of the top member, and their lower ends being narrower than their upper ends and lying in vertical planes between the planes of said upper ends and fitting flatly against opposite sides of the ends of said bottom member.

7 A holder comprising spaced parallel top and bottom members and spaced channelled end members receiving and fastened to the ends of the top and bottom members, the flanges of the channelled members being spaced from and at opposite sides of the top member and narrowed and bent inward to fit flatly against opposite sides of the bottom member; the bottom member having longitudinally-alined extensions projecting through the bridge or bent portions of the respective channel members to constitute trunnions at the lower corners of the holder projecting outward relative to the respective channel members.

8. A holder comprising parallel top and bottom members and channelled end members receiving the ends of the top and bottom members, the flanges of the channelled members being spaced from and at opposite sides of the top member; the flanges of the end members being narrowed from their lower ends to a plane substantially higher than the bottom member, the lower ends of the channelled members where the flanges are narrowed, being reduced in thickness and snugly engaging opposite sides of the bottom member, the holder having trunnions projecting outwardly from the bridge portion of the end members.

9. A holder comprising'parallel top and bottom members and channelled end members receiving the ends of the top and bottom members, the flanges of the channelled members being spaced from and at opposite sides of the top member; the flanges of the end members being narrowed from their lower ends to a plane substantially higher than the bottom member, the lower ends of the channelled members where the flanges are narrowed, being reduced in thickness and snugly engaging opposite sides of the bottom member, the holder having trunnions projecting outwardly from the bridge portion of the end members, U-shaped clipssecured to the lower edge of the bottom member and projecting upward and slight-1y spaced from the sides thereof, and spring-depressed clips fitting on the upper member and each adapted to overlap the upper edge and outer side of one of a pair of cards adapted to fit in the holder and be spaced apart at their upper and lower edges by the said top and bottom member. 7

10. A holder for a pair of cards, comprising spaced parallel top and bottom members and a pair of channelled end members connecting the top-and bottom members, the ends of the top and bottom members fitting in the channelled end members and the flanges of the latter being s aced from the top member and bent inwarc at their lower ends to fit flatly against opposite sides of the bottom members, the bent inward parts of said flanges being narrowed so that a pair of cards fitting inthe channel members and against opposite sides of the top and bottom members shall lie at their lower ends in the planes of the narrowed bentinward portions of the flanges of the channelled end members.

JOHN D. MAOLACHLAN. 

